Kudos to the management, staff and store operators at Fashion Outlets Niagara Falls USA.
They did something Thursday that may not seem like much of a huge deal but it is when you are parents or grandparents with small children and grandchildren who are trying to keep the little ones entertained amid rising costs for just about everything.
Last night, the mall opened its doors for a “Boo Bash.”
It gave local kids a chance to show off their Halloween costumes a little early while grabbing some candy in a safe, indoor environment that didn’t break the bank for moms, dads, grammas or grampas.
The value of family fun at a reasonable price cannot be overstated these days.
The Boo Bash included a dance party with DJ Mxn and candy stops at stores throughout the mall.
For a $1 for the whole family — the whole family! — got to take a journey through the “not-so-wicked walkway” which featured various ghosts and spookie things and a pleasant witch making a mysterious potion who gave out spider rings that glowed in the dark.
It was so cool, my crew had to do it twice.
Balloon artist Jamie Palumbo, who we met at the Power Vista last month, made two tall hats for my grandsons Kaiden and Mason and a beautiful flower balloon wristband for my granddaughter, Kendall.
On the way out the door, we grabbed three bags of freshly popped popcorn for a grand total of $3.
Along the way, we saw all sorts of interesting and entertaining costume characters like “The Chicken Man” and “The Joker” and “Hugs the Clown.”
On the subject of clowns, my 8-year-old grandson Mason saw three — count ’em three — of the clown characters from “Killer Clowns from Outer Space.”
Trust me on this, he’ll be talking about this once-in-a-lifetime encounter with three space clowns all week, maybe longer.
I believe, in total, I spent $11 for a couple of hours my grandchildren really enjoyed and I know because they told me so several times.
I’m not sure how much this sort of thing does for the actual stores and vendors, but it goes a long way in my book to remind us what’s inside the mall and that when a business or businesses want to, they can still put together events that have families in mind and serve as promotions along the way.
At a time and place in the world where it’s not at all difficult for two grandparents with three grandchildren to spend $100 or better at a single stop, families are always looking for affordable ways to keep the kids entertained.
A lot of families can’t afford to even go to the movies these days, which is why debates like the one over how to fund a new park on Beech Avenue in Niagara Falls are so important.
When you’ve got kids and grandkids, nothing beats cheap fun or even free entertainment.
So thank you to the Fashion Outlets for one fine pre-Halloween experience.
For Kendall, Kaiden, Mason and hundreds of other local kids, it was without a doubt the social event of the season so far.